PanARMENIAN.Net - Thanks to a $5.6 million opening day in China, DreamWorks Animation's How to Train Your Dragon 2 has crossed the $500 million mark at the worldwide box office, firmly establishing itself as the top-grossing animated feature of the year, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Through Thursday, August 14 morning, the sequel, directed by Dean DeBlois, has grossed $501.8 million worldwide — $170.6 million domestically and $331.2 million in international markets, including China, where it premiered yesterday. Dragon 2, which is being released by Fox, also opens in Italy this weekend.

The film's latest tally puts it ahead of another Fox release, Rio 2, which has collected $494 million worldwide — $131.3 domestically and $362.7 million internationally. It has also outdistanced Warner's The Lego Movie, the top-grossing animated film of the year in the U.S. with $257.7 domestically and $210.3 million internationally, for a worldwide figure of $468 million.

"We have been incredibly proud of How to Train Your Dragon 2 from the moment we saw it, and we're thrilled that it has been embraced around the world with such enthusiasm," DreamWorks chief marketing officer Dawn Taubin said. "This film is not only an artistic and technical achievement for DreamWorks, but its strength at the global box office proves that audiences are embracing it as one of the most entertaining films of the year."

"This is a tremendous result for such a deserving, critically acclaimed film," added Chris Aronson, president domestic theatrical distribution for Fox.